Newsletter - Society of Catholic Priests

central for an understanding of what it means to be a priest,
Firstly the heart of the priesthood is the mass, as priests we are called to
be Eucharistic people, people who live out of the Eucharist, and shape our
lives around it. For here we meet Christ, here the life giving sacrifice of
Calvary is re-presented, and re-appropriated. Nothing should lie closer to
the heart of the priest than the Mass.
Secondly we should be people soaked in prayer, the divine office, should
be our life blood (try the Anglican breviary), but if we are parish priests,
we need to remember to pray for our people, easy to forget when praying
the office!
Thirdly we need to hear confession, if we are lucky we will find ourselves
in a parish where sacramental confession is the common practice, however
more likely than not most people confessing won’t realise they are doing
so, but nevertheless they will be. In fact most pastoral encounters the
priest is involved in are (in one way or another) confessions, the ministry
of reconciliation lies at the heart of all genuine priestly care.
Fourthly we need to be women and men committed to preaching and
teaching the faith. It is our responsibility to teach the faith, and the catholic
faith is inherently coherent, and if taught through sermons and courses, it
will, and does convince. We need to proclaim our faith with a boldness and
conviction that is sometimes sadly lacking amongst Catholics.
Fifthly we need to be dedicated to our people. John Vianney spent most
of his life in one parish, as did many of the great Anglo-Catholic priests of
yester-year. We live in a Church increasingly enamoured of five year
contracts and “careers”. This is deadly. How can people truly believe we
love them… how can we truly love them, unless we stick with them for
long periods. Our desire should not be for Bishoprics, but to be faithful
priests, that is the highest calling, to be spent for those we are called to
serve, to give our lives for them.
As far as I can see this priestly “model” remains at the heart of the priestly
vision, and we, as catholic priests, need to strive for this vision, to become
THE vision of the Anglican Communion. There is a danger in an age of
Church crisis, that as we fight for the Church we want to see in the future